Sweet Hope Cover Design Contest: Vote Now!

 

Hey Everyone!

Some of you may have seen my post last week regarding the cover design contest for Sweet Hope, the sequel to one of my favorite reads this year, Sweet Evil. In that post, I might have mentioned my undying, slightly obsessive love for one Kaidan Rowe. He's delicious. And if one of my covers is chosen, I'll be immortalized in ink alongside him as the girl who tempts him away from Anna with her wit and charm but, being the extraordinarily selfless person I am, nobly turns down his aggressive advances and convinces him to return to Anna to spare her a broken heart. Okay. Maybe that last part takes place all in my head, but the first part about my name in ink is true enough.

Voting for the cover design contest is now open, and you can see all the gorgeous entries over at Bewitched Bookworms. You can vote for multiple covers, and once the voting is tallied, the top 6 covers will be announced and will advance to the final round before a winner is chosen. I'd love it if you guys would pop over there and cast a vote for the covers you love because this is a truly unbelievable prize! If my entries below happen to be among your favorites, that would be amazing, but there are some truly stunning designs and I can't wait to see the top picks! Vote HERE.

MY ENTRIES:

 

Now I would like to take a few moments to get a little personal. I have something to share with all of you, and I think it's best to prepare yourselves. You see, in June I attended Book Expo America with my good friend Melissa from I Swim For Oceans and we had quite the experience. One that involved the L. Ron Hubbard booth and an overly friendly, dare I say handsy, tiny pirate. I give you this memento of our time with said pirate:

I think we should all take a moment to let the gloriousness of this picture sink in before I call attention to a few disturbing things.

...

Ready? First, let's all take a closer look at his face. I have no explanation for his expression. He looks dazed, whereas Melissa and I look terrified and uncomfortable (mostly because we were both of those things). He did seem rather fixated on Melissa's hair, telling her that it was the color of the sun (he did not offer any sort of poetic comparison for my hair - WTH pirate?), so perhaps the slack-jawed look is a result of a blond hair fetish. Yikes.

Speaking of a possible fetish, I 'd like draw attention to his, um, sword as I feel it supports my pirate-is-creepily-in-love-with-Melissa theory. Anyone else notice how his sword is quite forcefully jutting out from his groin and pointing directly at her crotch? I think it's trying to tell us something. His junk sword is making an enthusiastic beeline for Melissa, and the smile plastered on her face makes me think she has no idea what his masculine weapon is up to. RUN MELISSA! RUN AWAY FROM THE HORNY PIRATE'S SWORD BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

I feel like it's inappropriate for me to be in this picture at all. I'm just there on the left like a third wheel of douchey-ness in this strange, suddenly frighteningly sexual tableau. And who gave me that book? I don't remember picking that book up at all, but there it is in my hand in all its L. Ron Hubbard glory.

I think I should crop myself out of this picture, blow it up, frame it, and then send it on to Melissa so she can treasure it forever and ever. Get it? Treasure? Because he's a pirate? Yes? No? Fail.

BEA 2012 Wrap Up + Winners

(Before I start rambling about my BEA experience, I just want to say that I stole all the pictures in this post are from Melissa at I Swim for Oceans because I'm lame and didn't bring a camera.)

This year was my second year attending BookExpo America, and I have to say the the event just seems to keep getting better. Authors, publishers and publicists, and fellow bloggers were there in force and I had an absolute blast meeting as many people as I possibly could. Of course, because I'm me and can be more than a little challenged in large groups of people, the trip was not without its entertaining moments. Let's start from the beginning shall we?

For those of you who read my previous BEA post, you know Melissa flew to Ohio a couple days early before she, my mom, my mother-in-law (also known as the Moms) and I flew to NYC absurdly early on Monday morning. I'm not a morning person. Not even a little.

See this photo?

That's me on the right pretending to be excited by life at 5:30 in the morning at the Columbus airport. That expression fell from my face the minute after Melissa clicked the button and I returned to my sullen, half-asleep, "are books really exciting enough to wake up at 3:30am for?" state of mind.

For those of you who have never traveled with me, I have a secret for you. I'm bad news for anyone that wants to be on time. Without fail, every plane I get on is late. Or catches fire (seriously). Or has mechanical failure. Or the entire flight gets canceled. Our flight to NYC was no different, and we were of course delayed because our crew was "resting". Super. Once everyone was properly rested, we managed to get to New York late but without further incident.

Once there, the days all sort of blurred together in a whirlwind of awesomeness. There were books. There were fantastic people. And there was exhaustion. When I get exhausted, I get slaphappy, and then things like this happen:

I have no excuse for this picture. This was taken at the Teen Author Carnival event Tuesday night, and all I can say is I was tired, it was late at night, and I was hungry. If you look in the hand not holding the Penguin water bottle, you'll notice I have a vise-like grip on a yellow wrapper. That would be a bag of peanut M&Ms (win!), which, along with the water, was absolutely keeping me from certain death at that point in the evening. I hadn't eaten much that day which might explain why I'm licking the water bottle. Or not. Whichever. Melissa, of course, was kind enough to document my slow dissent into death. Bless her.

One of the primary activities at BEA is standing in lines. Lots of lines. And then more lines. This might not sound like fun, but for me it's a blast as I'm surrounded by fellow book-lovers and often stumble upon bloggers whose blogs I follow or whom I've spoken to on Twitter, and that makes it all worthwhile. While waiting in one of many lines this year I was introduced to a hilariously horrifying cartoon called Salad Fingers, and sat with Melissa watching in rapt fascination and terror as she played episode after episode on her phone. If you haven't seen this cartoon, watch it immediately. I've been scarred for life and I want everyone else to be scarred along with me ;-) Seriously, his soft, lilting voice will haunt my dreams for years to come, as will his need to caress rusty kettles. Melissa and I may or may not have adopted British accents and whispered the creepiest of his lines to one another in the middle of the night just to freak the other out. Whuh.

Also, there was a pirate at the event this year. One who refused to leave Melissa and I alone to wallow in our pain (my feet still hate me) on the floor of the Javits Center while waiting for the Moms to get their books signed. He called her Melissa of the Helmers and me Jenny of the Zemanek and asked many a passerby what brew they were drinking. He went on to tell Melissa her hair was the color of the sun. I got no such compliment. Where was my "you have hair the color of tree bark", that's what I'd like to know. Apparently the pirate was fonder of Melissa than me. *cries* We took a picture with him but it hasn't been emailed to us yet, as soon as it's in my hands I'll update this post ;-)

In all honesty though, BEA is an unforgettable experience, and one I look forward to repeating again and again despite my body's protests at the moment. To all the wonderful people I met, thank you for making BEA 2012 the best one yet!

Oh, and don't even ask about my flight home. Yes, it was delayed. And it's possible I cried like a little girl when we sat on the runway for 2 hours. Travel + Jenny = MADE OF WIN.

Top: Me, Melissa, Author Dan Cohen, and Danny from Bewitched Bookworms. Lower left: New York City from the the top of the Standard Hotel. Lower right: The Empire State Building at night from our hotel room.

Lastly, I hosted a few giveaways prior to leaving for BEA and have finally drawn winners! Thank you to everyone who entered and to Jennifer Estep and the people at Penguin for providing such generous giveaways! Winners have been emailed.

DARK FROST + KISS OF FROST

Winner: Melissa

PENGUIN GOODIE BAG:

Winner: Cheryl

BEA Bound + Giveaway

Hey Everyone!

I just wanted to do a short post to let all of you know the blog will be quiet for the next several days as I'll be attending BookExpo America in New York City. For an incomprehensible reason, I've booked the same 6am flight I took last year even knowing how completely ridiculous I am at absurdly early hours. Apparently I don't learn from past mistakes, so once again my mother, my mother-in-law, and the adorable Melissa from I Swim For Oceans will all be trekking to the Port Columbus International Airport at the laughable hour of 4am. Whuh.

This is me (left) and Melissa yesterday at an event in Cincinnati:

We will not look like this on Monday. My eyes will be half closed and I most definitely will not be smiling until it's a more reasonable hour. Sorry in advance if you see me prior to 10am ;-)

PENGUIN PANEL

For those who aren't attending BEA but live in the in the New York City area I just wanted to list a couple events that are taking place this week in case any of you might be able to attend. First up, the fantastic people over at Penguin are hosting a panel at the New York Public Library on Tuesday, June 5th from 6pm to 7:30pm. From Penguin:

The Not-So-Secret Life of the American Teenager: Bridging the Gap between YA and Adult Fiction

On this panel, Penguin authors Laura Harrington (Alice Bliss) and James King (Bill Warrington's Last Chance) join forces with fellow YA authors Mari Mancusi (Blood Coven Vampire novels), Veronica Wolff (The Watcher series), and Emily McKay (The Farm) to draw comparisons between Adult literature and the growing YA market. How do these authors craft novels that both teens and adults enjoy?  Whether their characters are parents reconnecting with their teenage children or teens battling high school bullies or vampires, each author offers readers a glimpse into teenage life-the milestones, the angst, the blissful moments-that both teens and parents can relate to. Moderated by Lev Grossman, author of the New York Times bestselling novels, The Magicians and The Magician King, these authors discuss books that appeal to readers of all ages.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 5th from 6 to 7:30 PM

WHERE: South Court Auditorium, located in the Stephen A Schwarzman Building on Fifth Ave at 42nd Street. (New York Public Library)

If you think you can make it, don't forget to register - you can do so HERE.

GIVEAWAY

For those of you who can't make it, Penguin is generously providing me with an amazing goodie bag to give away on the blog today. WOO HOO! This goodie bag includes:

- 1 copy of Veronica Wolff’s ISLE OF NIGHT

- 1 copy of Mari Mancusi’s BOYS THAT BITE

- 1 copy of Lev Grossman’s THE MAGICIAN KING

- 1 ARC of THE FARM by Emily McKay

- Bookmarks for Rachel Caine’s BITE CLUB and Veronica Wolff’s VAMPIRE’S KISS and other    cool swag, including a YA sampler.

To enter, please just leave a comment on this post and include a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. This giveaway is open to US residents only and will run through midnight EST on Friday, June 8th after which time a winner will be chosen and announced on the blog. Good luck everyone!

TEEN AUTHOR CARNIVAL

Teen Author Carnival is an event that brings together a huge list of fantastic young adult authors for several panels as well as books signings. I can't wait to attend this event, and when I list the title for one panel in particular, you'll know why. The panel I'm most excited for: Where Have You Been All My Life (Let's Talk Boys). Win. I will be gleefully attending this panel and also possibly drooling.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 5th 6:30pm to 9:30pm (after hours)

WHERE: Jefferson Market Library

You can find the full details and author list HERE.

SHADOW ON THE WALL SIGNING

Note: Shadow on the Wall is not a young adult book, but I wanted to include it in the list for those who might be interested. This title won the General Fiction/Novel category of the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

I'll be back to posting on Friday, have a wonderful week everyone!